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From Monte Carlo to the final frontier

“Beyond the Blue Horizon,” introduced in Lubitsch’s Monte Carlo, enters the public domain soon.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/22/f...

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown #music
Beyond the blue horizon by Young, Victor, 1900-1956 The image shows a handwritten sheet music manuscript titled “Lion and Boy” (Beyond the Blue Horizon), attributed to Victor Young. The notation is written in dark ink on yellowed paper, giving it an aged archival look. Musical staves fill the page, with expressive handwritten notes, chords, measure numbers, and performance markings. Boxes and small annotations appear throughout, indicating cues or edits. At the bottom, a handwritten note reads “Property of Paramount Pictures Inc.” followed by a date written in cursive, 1/23/41. https://archive.org/details/beyondbluehorizo00youn
November 23, 2025 at 9:46 AM
gutenberg.org
Writing across the Pacific

Pearl S. Buck, raised in China, wrote early novels about Chinese life during a period of U.S. exclusion and discrimination.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/21/w...

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown
Cover of East Wind: West Wind (1932 edition) is a novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1930. The cover of the 1932 edition of East Wind: West Wind features a stylized, decorative design with an East Asian aesthetic. The background is a muted tan or parchment-like color. At the center is an illustration of a woman's face in profile, framed by flowing black hair and delicate lines, evoking traditional Chinese artistic motifs. Around the portrait are decorative borders with geometric and floral patterns in black and red. The title East Wind: West Wind appears prominently in bold lettering, with Pearl S. Buck’s name displayed below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Wind:_West_Wind#/media/File:EastWindWestWind.jpg
November 22, 2025 at 11:18 AM
gutenberg.org
“The great American novel, and not a word in it- no music, too”

Milt Gross tackled the wordless novel in 1930. He Done Her Wrong playfully parodied Lynd Ward’s somber style.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/23/t...

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown
Title page from He Done Her Wrong by Milt Gross. The image shows the title page of Milt Gross’s He Done Her Wrong (1930). It features bold, hand-drawn lettering with an exaggerated, cartoonish style typical of Gross’s humor. The title dominates the page, rendered in large, playful block letters. Beneath it appears the author’s name, also illustrated in a lively, comic manner. Decorative lines and flourishes frame the composition. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milt_Gross_(1930)_He_Done_Her_Wrong_(title_page).jpg
November 24, 2025 at 10:27 AM
gutenberg.org
The copyright and the public good

Ross’s 1930 The Right and the Good introduced an ethics of balancing intuitive “prima facie” duties rather than strict rules or outcomes.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/24/t...

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown
The Right and the Good (book cover) The cover is simple and scholarly in appearance, using a plain, solid background with minimal ornamentation. The title The Right and the Good appears in clear, straightforward lettering near the top, with W. D. Ross listed as the author beneath it. The design emphasizes a formal academic style—unembellished, text-focused, and likely printed in a traditional serif font. There are no illustrations or decorative elements, giving the cover a restrained and classic. W. D. Ross - https://archive.org/details/rightgood0000ross/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_and_the_Good#/media/File:The_Right_and_the_Good_(book_cover).jpg
November 25, 2025 at 10:56 AM
gutenberg.org
Keep watching the skies

Baker, longtime observatory director, educated generations with his astronomy texts. His debut, Astronomy: An Introduction, appeared in 1930 and even included Pluto’s discovery.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/17/k...

#PublicDomainDayCountdown
Main Author: Baker, Robert Horace, 1883- Published: New York, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1933. Edition: 2d ed. Subjects: Astronomy. Physical Description: xix, 522 p. front., illus., diagrs. 24 cm. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006607814
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
gutenberg.org
A breakthrough technology breaks through to the public domain

Electrical recording arrived in 1925, replacing acoustic horns with microphones for richer, clearer sound.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/19/a...

#PublicDomainDayCountdown
Emile Berliner with disc record gramophone German-American engineer Emile Berliner (1851-1929) with the model of the first phonograph machine which he invented. Emile Berliner, the German-American engineer (1851–1929), is shown standing beside an early disc record gramophone of his own invention. He poses with the machine’s large metal horn and turntable, highlighting the groundbreaking device that helped transition recorded sound from cylinders to flat discs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_recording_and_reproduction#/media/File:Emile_Berliner_with_phonograph.jpg
November 20, 2025 at 9:04 AM
gutenberg.org
“There is no detective in England equal to a spinster lady of uncertain age with plenty of time on her hands”

Miss Marple’s debut, The Murder at the Vicarage, enters the US public domain in 47 days.

by John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/15/t...

#PublicDomainDayCountdown
The Murder at the Vicarage First Edition Cover 1930. The image shows the 1930 first edition cover of The Murder at the Vicarage. Three men stand in a study—two clergy and a uniformed officer—while another man lies slumped over a desk, hinting at the mystery’s central crime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murder_at_the_Vicarage#/media/File:The_Murder_at_the_Vicarage_First_Edition_Cover_1930.jpg
November 17, 2025 at 10:25 AM
gutenberg.org
Oh, more wise guys, eh?

Moe, Larry, and Shemp debuted with Ted Healy in Soup to Nuts (1930), stealing the spotlight before becoming the Three Stooges.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/16/o...

#PublicDomainDayCountdown
Trade magazine ad of Soup to Nuts, a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film written by cartoonist, sculptor, author, and inventor Rube Goldberg and directed by Benjamin Stoloff. The image is a vintage trade-magazine advertisement for the 1930 comedy film Soup to Nuts. The design is bold and graphic, featuring the film’s title prominently in large lettering. The layout has a classic early-Hollywood promotional style, with simple illustrative elements and clean typography. It highlights the film’s creative pedigree—written by famed cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg and directed by Benjamin Stoloff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_to_Nuts#/media/File:SoupToNuts_title.jpg
November 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM
gutenberg.org
“They’re about more than mystery”

Harriet Vane, tried for murder in Strong Poison, meets Lord Peter Wimsey, who loves her though she resists.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/18/t...

#books #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Strong Poison book cover. The image shows the vintage book cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers. It has a mustard-yellow background with large black serif text. The title “Strong Poison” dominates the center, with the oversized letter S stretching above the rest of the word. Above the title, in smaller text, is the author’s name and the price “7/6 net.” Below the title, it reads: “A New ‘Lord Peter’ Detective Novel.” At the bottom, the author’s name appears again in bold, capitalized letters. Two publisher emblems—a stylized “VG” monogram—appear in the top-right and bottom-left corners, alongside the name Gollancz, the publisher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_Poison#/media/File:Strong_poison.JPG
November 19, 2025 at 11:59 AM
gutenberg.org
When it reads differently in your head

“Cimarron,” 1930’s, is now overshadowed by its film versions. Ferber’s satire was read as straight Western, and her critique of racism had its own flaws.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/14/w...

#PublicDomainDayCountdown
First edition (Doubleday, Doran) of Cimarron by Edna Ferber. The dust jacket features a repeating pattern of small, stylized illustrations—cowboys, oil rigs, wagons, Native American figures, and frontier scenes—evoking the novel’s Western setting. The title appears prominently in a black box at the top, with Ferber’s name and references to her other works, Show Boat and So Big, printed beneath it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimarron_(novel)#/media/File:CimarronNovel.JPG
November 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Though smaller than it should be, the public domain is alive and well, and about to grow in much of the world. I've just made an introductory post for this year's #PublicDomainDayCountdown , the latest in a series I've been posting since copyrights started expiring again in the US a few years […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I can only feature 60 or so works in my #PublicDomainDayCountdown to 2025, but #hathitrust will open more than 76,000 volumes to US readers in January, and over 60,000 volumes to readers outside the US. Find out more about what's in store here […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
December 12, 2024 at 10:47 PM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
While working on my recent #PublicDomainDayCountdown, I chatted with Sean Dudley, who at the time was also working on the annual Public Domain Day post at Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain: https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/

Sean's continuing to highlight many […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
January 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
abzeronow.bsky.social
56 days or 8 weeks until 1928 published works enter the U. S. public domain. One of those is the 1928 novella the Bishop's Wife, which was adapted into film in 1947 under the same title. This was remade in 1996 as The Preacher's Wife. #publicdomaindaycountdown Soon, more adaptations can be made.
November 7, 2023 at 1:17 AM
gutenberg.org
The patchwork canon of Oz

Ruth Plumly Thompson’s The Yellow Knight of Oz enters the public domain soon, a quirky yet delightful outlier in the canon.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

everybodyslibraries.com/2025/11/20/t...

#books #publicDomainDayCountdown
Cover of The Yellow Knight of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson Illustratated by John R. Neill At the top, the title appears in large blue lettering. The central figure is a brightly dressed knight in vivid yellow and red armor, with a dramatic plumed helmet and cape. He stands with one arm raised. Beside him is a young person in simple clothing, looking up at him. Surrounding them are whimsical Oz characters, including animal-like figures and fantastical creatures. A large circular emblem with a red “Z” on a yellow background appears to the right. At the bottom, the cover credits Ruth Plumly Thompson as author (continuing the famous Oz stories) and notes L. Frank Baum, with illustration credit to John R. Neill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Knight_of_Oz#/media/File:Yellow_knight_cover.jpg
November 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
In case you missed it over the weekend, I've started my #PublicDomainDayCountdown to 2025, each day briefly discussing a different interesting work that's joining the pubic domain in the US in January.

I've posted about three works so far in this year's countdown, along with an introductory […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 4, 2024 at 10:40 PM
eliot-l.social.coop.ap.brid.gy
#publicdomainday is gonna be here soon and is gonna be a good one!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_public_domain

#publicdomain #PublicDomainDayCountdown
2025 in public domain - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
December 12, 2024 at 6:25 AM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Duke's Center for the Public Domain annually does a wonderful roundup of works about to arrive in the public domain, with extensive commentary. You can now read their post for 2025: https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/ #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Public Domain Day 2025 | Duke University School of Law
Tweet January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924! By Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle Directors, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain CC BY 4.0 Please note that this site is only about US law; the copyright terms in other countries are different.[1] On January 1, 2025, thousands of copyrighted works from 1929 will enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1924. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon.
web.law.duke.edu
December 16, 2024 at 6:38 PM
jmarkockerbloom.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Today the daily update at File 770 (always a good place to hear and talk about SFF and other genre literature) leads with a look at the #PublicDomainDayCountdown to 2025 that I've been posting since early November […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
December 21, 2024 at 2:55 AM
gutenberg.org
January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924!
By Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle
Directors, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain
web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicd...
#PublicDomainDayCountdown
Public Domain Day 2025 | Duke University School of Law
Tweet January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924! By Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle Directors, Duke Center for the Study of the Public D...
web.law.duke.edu
December 15, 2024 at 9:47 AM